Templar Caste

The Templar Caste was an order of protoss warriors in service to the Daelaam and, before it, to the Protoss Empire. One of the three castes of protoss society alongside the leaders of the Judicator Caste and the workers of the Khalai Caste, the Templar comprised the holy warriors who followed the disciplines of the Khala to ever-escalating pinnacles of psionic power, and their ranks held some of the most powerful individuals in the Koprulu Sector. The caste endured the fall of Aiur, the corruption of the Khala by Amon, and finally its own abolition before its name lived on among the protoss who still called themselves Templar.

Overview and doctrine#

Under the Protoss Empire, the Templar Caste comprised the holy warriors who followed the Khala's disciplines to ever-escalating pinnacles of psionic power. Templar were trained from youth to harness fear and to give their lives if necessary. Members of the caste who were particularly skilled psychics were known as high templar, and both they and ordinary members were sometimes simply called "Templar." The caste was led by an executor, and at various times there were multiple executors; during the Protoss Empire, the leading executors resided in the Citadel of the Executor in Antioch.

During the Golden Age, Templar wore brilliant armor to convey their status and honor as warriors, and until the fall of the Conclave, female protoss were uncommon among their commanding ranks. The caste employed a concept known as the "Warrior's Path." High templar were far along that path, but its final step was considered to be reached only when two high templar merged to form an archon.

Early history#

Before the advent of the Khala, each protoss tribe had a definite proclivity or strength, and the dictates of the Khala advised a three-caste system into which each tribe fit easily. The Templar tribes were those with great physical prowess or agility, or a tendency toward strategy. In the early days of the Khala, they fought to protect the new protoss culture from those who disagreed with it, and when the battles ended they defended their people from fearsome fauna and later from hostile alien beings as they settled their colonies. The Templar were called to battle their own during the Discord, when rogue tribes rejected the Khala. Even in times of peace, rare as they were, Templar trained constantly, and before the fall of Aiur members of the caste would often make pilgrimages to sacred sites on the planet. The known Templar tribes included the Akilae, Auriga, Sargas, Venatir, and Velari Tribes.

Conflict with the zerg#

In the early phases of the Great War, the Templar deployed the Koprulu Expeditionary Force to combat the zerg infestation on the terran worlds. After the fighting there abated, the fleet's commander, Executor Tassadar, opted to follow the zerg to Char rather than return to Aiur, taking only his command ship with him. The Templar were later engaged during the zerg invasion of Aiur, where uninspiring leadership by the Conclave hampered their efforts and the short-lived civil war surrounding Tassadar's return further divided their resources. Ultimately the battle was lost, and the Khalai were forced to abandon Aiur for Shakuras.

During the Brood War, many Templar rallied to Judicator Aldaris in an abortive uprising against Matriarch Raszagal. In the years after the conflict, the Templar often called for a return to Aiur, and in 2502 they responded quickly to resurgent zerg activity in the Koprulu Sector, securing the xel'naga temple on Artika from the Terran Dominion and the Swarm.

A new war#

The Templar operated as the fighting force of the Daelaam. In 2506, Templar warriors were abducted by the Tal'darim and handed over to the Moebius Foundation as test subjects in the creation of hybrids. These Templar were freed by Praetor Talis and Prelate Zeratul and took part in an assault on the Temple of Erris, a Tal'darim stronghold, giving their lives so that Zeratul could warn Artanis of the looming Tal'darim invasion.

That same year the Templar Caste took part in the Reclamation of Aiur. Templar warriors, alongside their Khalai Caste and Nerazim allies, pushed through the ranks of the zerg that held Aiur but encountered hybrid as they tried to clear the warp conduits. Amon then corrupted the Khala, chaining all Templar warriors bound to it to his will. Zeratul gave his life to free Hierarch Artanis, who then set about freeing what other Khalai protoss he could before escaping the planet aboard the arkship Spear of Adun. The corrupted Templar set out with the Golden Armada under Executor Selendis to carry out Amon's will and purify the universe of life.

Aboard the Spear of Adun, ancient Templar warriors and dragoons were brought out of cryosleep after thousands of years and had their nerve cords cut to prevent corruption. These Templar served alongside Artanis during the destruction of Shakuras, the defense of Korhal, and the reclamation of new Purifier technology from Glacius, and they aided in Artanis' rescue after he was trapped by Amon.

The end of the caste#

Artanis's freed Templar took part in the operation to free the ancient Purifiers locked in stasis near Endion and in the push to instate Alarak as Highlord of the Tal'darim, ending their alliance with Amon. Both operations succeeded, and the Purifiers and Tal'darim stood united with the Daelaam. When Matriarch Vorazun's dark templar tracked Amon's hybrid breeding operations to an asteroid field named Revanscar, Artanis sent forces to investigate, but Moebius Corps battlecruisers trapped the Spear of Adun, forcing Artanis's best Templar to stay behind and defend the arkship while the Khalai Caste phasesmith Karax coordinated the assault on the facility. Karax's attack destroyed the base and crippled Amon's army, and the act proved to Artanis that the age of the caste system was over and that through deeds all should be able to become Templar. The Templar Caste was abolished that day.

Despite the declaration, protoss warriors continued to be referred to as Templar. After years of suffering the dark consequences of the End War, the protoss' triumphant past burned even brighter in their memory, and the Templar proudly revived their ancient raiment, beginning with the high templar of the Shelak Tribe and spreading through many others. This revival of the artistic styles of the Golden Age caught the ire of some Nerazim, even as Templar traditionalists adopted Nerazim technology and simply changed its aesthetics. As the protoss adjusted to peacetime, many Templar were forced to confront the realization that they no longer had a battle to fight, preparing for wars yet to come while finding themselves isolated and without the Khala for guidance.